Jeff Goldblum Dishes On His Death Hoax As Well As His Mom’s Reaction To It All

Jeff Goldblum is not immune to slanderous celebrity rumors, just like other Hollywood entertainers. In fact, perhaps one of the most insidious forms of gossip of all, death hoaxes, affected the Independence Day actor. Back in 2009, rumors began online which claimed the actor fell to his death in New Zealand.

A fake news organization distributed the false story, but thankfully, it was debunked by Jeff’s representatives shortly after. The 65-year-old actor said after “it went all over the world,” he set the record straight.

During an appearance on The Talk, Jeff said people thought he died and at that time, he didn’t have a cellphone or email so he couldn’t prove the claims were incorrect.

However, he did have a traditional landline and an answering machine, the contraption which his mother called him on and said, “Jeffrey, are you there? Are you there?”

Goldblum admitted the entire ordeal was “shocking.” However, he learned a focal lesson from it all: people should exercise caution when it comes to spreading information online.

The actor added, “be careful about spreading something that you haven’t sourced entirely, or that’s not factual.” This isn’t the first time he talked about it.

During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Jeff said his mother called him and asked if he was still alive.

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One of his friends even left a hysterical message on his answering machine. Moreover, back in 2016, Goldblum claimed he had never even been to New Zealand, so the rumors were outright ridiculous. Goldblum joked that if he had to die in such a manner, like falling off a cliff, he wouldn’t be particularly thrilled about it.